King – Great Mistake

Poem Title: Glory after Rust

Inspired by “The Great Mistake #2” by Drew King

We are the rustbelt
Complicated, twisted
sheets of man-made metal
All intertwined
Holding onto one another for dear life
Yet pushing each other farther and farther away
Lighting his cigar
by the smeltering flame of the furnace
casting sooty shadows upon the wall
Great Uncle Rockefeller would say
“The way to make money is to buy
when blood is running in the streets”.
When I look at the mess he made and left behind
it’s a wonder he didn't milk the marrow from our bones
and leave us as dust
Rust
now litters our highways
our side streets and porches
As we sit and swing upon polycarbonate plastic #4
and scrap every bit of the ore and metal mined
to line
our empty pockets
Our industry depleted, exported, sold
buildings decayed
and the holes left behind
in our transportation
our livelihood
our education
need more than the Rockefellers
the Carnegies, the Hays and the Wades
to repair
our rust
and garner our trust.
Rather give us new minds
for a spit polish and shine
and return our emerald city to full glory once more.

Artist: Drew King
To learn more about Drew King and his work, visit www.artbydrewking.com. Image used with permission from the artist.